This is Cedar’s first Kenyan coffee for 2025. Cedar doesn’t come out with Kenyan offerings especially often, but they typically boast some amazing flavour potential, so we’re always excited when they crop up. To add to the excitement of this particular coffee, it’s been through a unique form of processing that involves both anaerobic fermentation and a twist on the traditional natural processing technique. You can read more about it in Cedar’s notes below.

Kenyan coffees really can be quite special, and stand out even among other famous African coffee origins. This is in part due to Kenya’s superb growing conditions. Nyeri in particular, where this coffee was cultivated, offers the ideal environment for coffee production. Located in Kenya’s central highlands between Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Ranges, Nyeri boasts volcanic soils rich in minerals, and benefits from cooler temperatures thanks to its high altitude (some 1500 to 2000 meters above sea level). Cooler growing temperatures typically slow the coffee cherry’s ripening process, which allows the coffee plant to absorb more nutrients from the soil. This can lead to particularly bright and complex flavours in the eventual coffee bean.

Kenya’s amazing coffee is also thanks to the dedication of coffee workers throughout the Kenyan coffee supply chain. Kenyan coffee farmers and producers are famous for their agricultural expertise, as well as their rigorous processing and quality-control practices. Once harvested and processed, Kenyan coffees are subjected to a precise screening and quality grading, and then sent to a weekly auction managed by the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE). These auctions are highly competitive, ensuring that only the highest quality lots eventually make their way to market, and that they are priced fairly. 

However, Kenya’s coffee industry has fallen on hard times in recent years. Due to a combination of climate change-fueled growing obstacles, high input costs, and delayed payments to farmers, Kenya’s coffee output has shrunk from 128 000 metric tonnes in 1989 to 34 500 metric tonnes in 2020-2024, and there aren’t yet many sure signs of a turnaround. The Maguta Coffee Estate, where this coffee was produced, is one of many Kenyan coffee farms working to address these issues. Owner and farmer David Ngibuini (pictured below) has a keen focus on producing high quality specialty grade Arabica coffee that fetches higher prices in the international market, the profits of which are passed on to his workers. David also puts particular emphasis on sustainable farming practices, and the representation and empowerment of women in Kenya’s coffee industry.

Phaedon's tasting notes

This coffee doesn't just have a great name... it fully lives up to it in the cup. It may be one of the best Kenyans I've tasted in recent years, though I wouldn't call it archetypal. It doesn't have that typical tart Kenyan acidity. Instead, it's a bit more restrained, perhaps a little more malic than citric. It's still bursting with fruit flavours though.

Like my friends at Cedar, I also picked up stone fruit but I likened it more to apricot and peach than plum in my notes. I also picked up some strawberry notes and other red berry goodness. It's relatively bright, but it also has a jammy sugary sweetness, and believe it or not, I wrote "vanilla cake" in my notes before ever seeing Cedar's. Winston, Leigh and I are clearly on the same page, and this is a killer coffee, particularly in an AeroPress, pour-over or plunger.

Cedar’s notes

“We spent quite a long time with this coffee, sample roasting, dialing in, and tasting rigorously. On filter, we picked up notes of plums and cranberries, citrus acidity, and the kind of sweetness you would find in a grapefruit. These notes come through on espresso too, and are more concentrated; the acidity is heightened, providing vibrancy with a juicy mouthfeel. On milk it feels light and fluffy, like a vanilla cake with just enough sweetness.”

• Cup profile: Plums, grapefruit, vanilla cake

Coffee details from Cedar

“We present to you The Maguta Coffee Estate in Kenya, run by David Ngibuini. This estate produces high-quality coffee while empowering local communities. The estate has state-of-the-art processing facilities and innovative infrastructure.

“Despite Kenya's declining coffee production due to poor farmer payments, Maguta Estate aims to improve [the] livelihoods [of its farmers] and coffee quality, promoting sustainable coffee production. [Maguta’s] exceptional processing facilities allow [it] to produce a range of diverse flavours through unique processing methods, one of them being the Supernatural process. What is Supernatural processing you ask? Well, here is the lowdown:

“Early harvest cherries are hand-sorted by color at the wet mill. It then undergoes anaerobic fermentation; ripe cherries are processed in an airtight environment at a cool temperature for an extended period, creating a funky and fruity flavour profile. The cherries are then wrapped in thick stacks on raised beds for 3 days to enhance classic Supernatural qualities. The cherries are then unwrapped, spread thin, and dried for 25-30 days, reducing moisture content to 10-12%.”

• Farm: Maguta Estate
• Owner/farmer: David Ngibuini
• Region: Nyeri
• Country: Kenya
• Process: Supernatural
• Altitude: 1650 - 1800 masl
• Variety: SL28, SL34